As a result of the events in the Red Sea, the Suez Canal is seeing a 42% decline in trade volume over the last two months, as reported by the United Nations.
“The state of affairs in the Red Sea raises serious concerns as it exacerbates trade disruptions associated with geopolitics and climate change,” stated Jan Hoffmann, a UNCTAD representative.
UNCTAD reports that owing to events that halted transit via the Red Sea, the volume of trade through the Suez Canal fell by 42% in the last two months, while the number of container ship crossings per week fell by 67% on an annual basis.
Given that “more than 80%” of international traffic in products is conducted by water and that “other important routes are also under pressure,” the UNCTAD expert emphasized that trade interruptions in the Red water are cause for concern.
Following Russia’s war on Ukraine, transit over the Black Sea was severely hampered, which in the months that followed caused a spike in food prices worldwide.
